“The tools are, unsurprisingly, Mac-only. It’s a new version of the same Xcode and Interface Builder (and performance tuning) apps that Mac developers use today. This has the potential to do for Windows developers what the iPod did for Windows users — move them to the Mac,” Gruber writes.

The iPhone/iPod touch games will “make the iPhone analogous to the Wii, in that it opens up new concepts in game UI design,” Gruber writes.

“Apple’s 30/70 split with developers is steep, but initial reaction from the developers I follow on Twitter seems to be positive,” Gruber writes. “The reasons developers are willing to accept a 70/30 split are simple: convenience and exposure… The $99 fee for getting your app listed in the store is a no-brainer. A bummer, perhaps, for the student set, but I suspect it’s intended as a bozo filter to keep the process from being inundated with glorified do-little “Hello World” apps. (I’m almost certain even freeware apps require the $99 listing fee — although that fee is per-developer, not per-app.)”

Gruber writes, “In short, what developers lose per-transaction from Apple’s 30 percent take, they can more than make up for in volume. This is going to be a gold rush.”

@British Mac Head
Of course you are right, and it seemed pretty obvious to me too. I guess some tech writers and programmers don’t understand the concept of building distribution costs into the product pricing.

And those newly moved developers will, by virtue of the iPhone’s Cocoa API, be steps away from being Mac developers. I see potential for a large increase in Mac software alongside the tidal wave of iPhone software.

@ Wally Wallet
What an idiotic remark. No iPhone user has to spend one nickle or dime on any of the applications. The software update is free, many apps will be free, and no one is twisting your arm to buy applications.